Quenta 4 — Of Thingol and Melian
Chapter 4 of the Quenta Silmarillion
Summary
On the long westward march, Elwë Singollo, the tall lord of the Teleri, strayed alone into the smoky woods of Nan Elmoth and there beheld Melian the Maia, “of the race of the Valar”; great enchantment fell upon them and they stood long, hand in hand, while the years passed unnoticed about them. Their people searched for Elwë in vain and tarried in Beleriand, unwilling to leave their king behind, and so the Teleri who remained became the Sindar, the Grey Elves, upon the sea-loving shore of the western world. Melian’s wisdom and power, and the deep sleep into which she drew Elwë from his kindred, were the hidden foundation of the coming realm of Doriath. The chapter tells how Thingol, whom the Sindar called their king, dwelt at last with Melian in that guarded land, and how from their union came Lúthien, whom many songs name the fairest of the Children of Ilúvatar. The tale ends by noting that Melian was one of the Maiar and that great witchcraft also she wrought about the borders of her realm in after years.